Firies to battle through the night

Firefighters will battle through the night to contain a large fire that tore through swathes of bushland on NSW’s Central Coast.

Authorities are concerned the blaze is just the start of what promises to be a long and potentially dangerous bushfire season for eastern states covered in thick, lush grass after more than two years of consistently wet weather.

Sunday’s fire erupted in bush at Watanobbi, near Wyong, about noon and quickly forced the closure of the F3 freeway, causing long delays for drivers.
Although the blaze was relatively small, it burned fiercely and the smoke could be seen 90 kilometres away in Sydney.

fireBy 7pm (AEST), the fire had subsided significantly and the Rural Fire Service (RFS) operation had been scaled back a little.

“It may well be that firefighters are there overnight, although there won’t be as many firefighters as we’ve got there now,” RFS spokesman Ben Shepherd told AAP.

About 70 firefighters were at the scene on Sunday evening.

The fire was burning in an area of wetlands, which meant it was a bit easier to contain.

But the boggy fireground was making vehicular access tricky.

The F3 was reopened about 4pm (AEST) and there were nine-kilometre queues for drivers heading north and four kilometre queues in southbound lanes.

Authorities are now worried about the potential for a long 2012/13 bushfire season, particularly in western NSW, where the grass has grown long and thick over the past two years.

“Really all up and down the eastern seaboard,” Mr Shepherd added.
“The grass growth west of the divide is what we’re concentrating on.
“Given that some areas haven’t seen that level of grass growth for 30 or 40 years.”

 

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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